Road accidents during the Muslim holiday of Aidilfitri, when millions of Indonesians travel to their hometowns, have killed at least 760 people and injured more than 5,000, police said today.

More than 4,000 accidents have occurred since revellers began their journeys a week before Aidilfitri, which fell on Sunday in Indonesia, national police spokesperson Boy Rafli Amar said.

Most of the accidents occurred on the main island of Java and nearly 70 percent of them involved motorcycles, he said.

“As we speak, more people are being killed in road accidents,” Amar said.

Aidilfitri marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan. About 20 million people across the sprawling archipelago took part in the annual exodus to spend the holiday with their relatives this year.

Many use motorcycles to travel long distances, often with two or three people, including children, on the back and front.

Amar said reckless driving, bad roads and poorly maintained vehicles contributed to the number of accidents.

- dpa